Any experience with math mammoth?

[kristinannie]

I had decided to use Singapore math and was excited about it...until I found Mammoth. It was reviewed very favorably on many websites and it is so affordable. I am spending A LOT of money on kindergarten (although almost all of it is nonconsumable and can be used with my other two kids) and I see this as a way to save some money. I just wondered if anyone had used this program and what they thought of it. I will buy Singapore if it is really that much better, but from what I hear, this has a lot of elements of Singapore built in. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Math is VERY important to DH and I since we are both science type people. Thanks!

[Edwena]

This thread has several posts already linked. Just scroll down some.:)

[TracyP]

I love, love, love MM. I used Singapore, Math U See, and CLE before finding MM. I have been using for about 1.5 years and like it more and more all the time. I will link a thread on this topic for you here.

Math Mammoth or Singapore

[lamamaloca]

I use and like Math Mammoth, but I believe that it only begins with first grade. She does have some recommendations for K level:

http://www.mathmammoth.com/complete/kindergarten.php

[wapiti]

Same thing happened here - I was ready to buy Singapore for dd9, and for whatever reason hadn't clicked purchase yet - and I read about MM. We started last week. I'm busy filling in holes leftover from when she was in school (we just removed her from school over winter break). So far I really, really like it. I hope I like it as well in May and next year :)

[Haiku]

I used Singapore with my oldest dd (now 16) and I have to say that I HATED it. It was weird. I don't think MM is anything like it. We're very happy with MM.

 

Tara

[boscopup]

I love MM, and if your K'er is ready for heavy addition/subtraction, MM is great, but it's a first grade text. Also, the writing would probably be a but much for the average K'er.

 

If you want a K level program, I'd recommend Singapore Essential Math K, which is inexpensive. You could then switch to MM for first grade. That's what I plan to do with my 4 year old (though we'll also be using Right Start A).

[ChandlerMom]

I had decided to use Singapore math and was excited about it...until I found Mammoth. It was reviewed very favorably on many websites and it is so affordable. I am spending A LOT of money on kindergarten (although almost all of it is nonconsumable and can be used with my other two kids) and I see this as a way to save some money. I just wondered if anyone had used this program and what they thought of it. I will buy Singapore if it is really that much better, but from what I hear, this has a lot of elements of Singapore built in. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Math is VERY important to DH and I since we are both science type people. Thanks!

 

I compared both and chose MM because of simplicity, cost, and adaptability. I am extremely "mathy" and both are good curricula as far as that. The simplicity of a single text is huge -- more I do this the more I like things to be simple which gives me time/energy to tweak topics and be "creative" in other areas. As to cost, can't be beat: I like that for $100 (20% off) I've got math covered thru 6th grade for 3 kids. :D I also like how adaptable it is -- unlike lots of "highly spiral" or incremental programs, I feel comfortable tweaking the topics covered to suit us -- I know I'm not going to mess up "The Program" if I give a few pages from a different chapter when dd needs a break or is sick or needs more practice. I also like that it is set up s that you work until you stop, then pick up where you left off the next day. So, some days yoy dc may blaze thru 4 pages and another only 1 -- that's ok since there isn't some overarching "structure" of starting each day with X then Y and finally Z. This has been especially nice with my K'r who is doing 1A, can handle the material but wouldn't be up to a full structured lesson -- I can keep the pace gentle and fun and take breaks to act out math with her toys. :D

 

If you are interested I'd definitely get the free download of samples -- try to do a few pages with dc now. Also, Maria (author of MM) is very responsive to questions or problems, which isn't true of a mega-publisher.

 

ETA: on using MM1 with a K'r: I think it can be a good choice if your dc has those basics down (counting, less/more, number recog/writing), which is likely the case if you and dh are science/math lovers. The adaptability I mentioned means being able to take a side trip reviewing these skills if you hit something and feel dc needs more practice. I'm also going slower for now. IMO preK thru 1 should be especially fun and light. Teaching your kids to enjoy math in all it's flavors (geometry, shapes, sorting, arithmetic) is paramount. Learning skills and facts are just gravy and will happen soon enough if you teach them to have fun with math. :D With my first, I had to fight the urge to pull out partial differential eqns. :lol:

Edited January 13, 2011 by ChandlerMom

[hmschooling]

Another former SM user turned MM fan :) MM is great! It has the mental/conceptual math strengths of Singapore with more review and so super simple to follow and teach from. When needed, my DD9 has been able to lead herself through the lessons b/c Maria explains it so clearly. It's clear, concise instruction is second to none. There are many more problems per page, but Maria says she doesn't intend for you to use them all at one go...but save some in case you need them for review or just skip some alltogether. There are reviews and such in the download as well. I also LOVE her lists of links to use as fun practice and reinforcment for each chapter. It's fabulous!

[kristinannie]

Thanks so much for all of your info. I was leaning toward MM, but a part of me was just worried because it is so cheap! DH is still not sold on homeschooling for all of elementary so I also want something that will help him go back to PS if that is what has to happen. On the MM site, it looks like DS is ready for 1st grade math since he can do all the prerequisites so we are going to start there in mid-July (when I plan to start school).

 

For now, we are just doing letter and number practice books from Catholic Heritage Curricula. He is in pre-K, but we are supplementing those on days off or on snow days (like today and yesterday).

 

I feel so much better about my decision. Thanks, everyone!

[serendipitous journey]

... this may not be helpful, as I haven't tried MM; but like the original poster we are science types, and DH runs a neuroscience lab that makes heavy use of advanced statistics. So a rigorous math education was one of his concerns about homeschooling, and mine too. It's also critical that the children enjoy math and have fun with it.

 

I started DS5 on MathUSee when he was 3, 2 days a week or so, and now he's on the Beta (second grade) level. It's easily tweaked it to match his writing/reading skills, and the focus on building, saying, & writing each method has been very intuitive. His understanding of number concepts is robust, he has started using rounding & estimating on his own initiative, and his math facts knowledge is sturdy and growing (though requires regular review). There's not a focus on patterns, geometry, etc. and to keep DSs test-taking skills robust we're planning to supplement from the Critical Thinking Company next year. The manipulatives are $35; you may want 2 sets but not more. The Beta student text is $25, and the instructor manual with DVD are $40.

 

I understand from other sources that MathUSee may not be so rigorous once it departs from arithmetic and heads into the calculus, but that's far enough in the future that I haven't developed my own opinion on it.